


Keith Is A Cup (holds me)

by I_am_a_Ruin



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Big Spoon Keith, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Cuddles, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, Gay Keith (Voltron), Getting Together, Hickeys, Hunk is best boy, Little Spoon Lance, M/M, Making Out, Night Terrors, Pidge | Katie Holt is So Done, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Sleepy Cuddles, they fight for like two seconds, very minor angst, what I wrote fluff?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-11 07:02:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16470986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_am_a_Ruin/pseuds/I_am_a_Ruin
Summary: When Lance is out of options for help with his night terrors, he turns to Keith. Unfortunately for Keith, who is pining hard and now required to hold Lance through the night.





	Keith Is A Cup (holds me)

**Author's Note:**

> What she wrote fluff?! Baffling. Frankly, I'm shocked that it's twelve pages oh my God???? I even edited it to the best of my very limited patience. Only the best for you folks!   
> I did a lot of research on night terrors tbh but if you know things I don't that could improve this please hmu  
> I really hope you guys enjoy this I had so much fun writing it. I read every Klance thing and looked at all the klance artwork and all the klanc Tik Toks for inspiration so if you have literally any klance content, you probably helped inspire this piece and I thank you for your contribution.  
> Special thanks to the person who's comic my title is from. If I ever find it, I'll post a link to it here!

Sleeping wasn’t meant to be complicated. Everybody slept. It was sort of mandatory for humans to live. Which is why it was completely nonsensical for Keith to struggle with it so much. Still, it took hours for his body to calm down enough to fall asleep. Every single night.

It had been roughly an hour and a half since he first lie down and he was nowhere near sleep so he was more confused than bothered by the tentative knock on his door. He only got late night visits when Pidge had a test to study for and her last exam had been yesterday. Besides, she didn’t believe in knocking when it came to Keith. It couldn’t be her. 

Keith approached the door warily, catching someone murmuring outside it as he did, “Dammit, Keith. Please be awake…”

He knew that voice. Oh, God, no. Not Lance. Keith had always done his best to minimize interaction with Lance one-on-one. It wasn’t that he was annoying. Well, okay. He was a little, but Keith was used to it. Actually Lance was sort of really fun to be around once he warmed up. No, the problem was more Keith’s doing. It didn’t help to make Keith less confused that Lance was just about the gayest straight boy Keith had ever met. 

The one thing that kept making Keith’s stupid feelings think he had a chance was when Lance would get these really serious face, and Keith knew he had all of Lance’s attention in that moment. And then Lance would say something really nice, borderline flirty. Something complimentary about Keith’s outfit or eyes like he was just now seeing them. 

Of course, in the next breath, now that he had Keith riled up and lost in Lance’s stupid eyes and certain his heart was liable to burst, Lance was distracted by some new hot girl to flirt with. And this was the slap in the face every time, reminding Keith that sometimes boys were actually comfortable enough with themselves to not have an issue with being affectionate with the same sex. That didn’t mean they were interested though. And that was Lance. It hurt but Keith just needed to get over it. Lance was straight and Keith had to be okay with it. Especially if he wanted to stay friends with the guy.

“Keith, wake up! Please…” Lance sounded desperate, now that Keith was listening. Fuck. He was getting all lost in thought and Lance needed him. 

Keith wasted no more time in pulling his door open, “Lance? What’s up?”

Lance looked  _ terrible  _ and Lance never looked terrible. It was one of the things that Keith admired about him. Not only was Lance painfully attractive, he put a lot of effort into maintaining it. Something must be really bad for Lance to be out in public in pajamas with his hair mussed, eyes puffy, and wet… had he been crying?

“Can I… um… I know it’s late… but can I come in?” Lance shifted his weight from foot to foot anxiously, rubbing the back of his neck.

Keith stepped aside so Lance could enter the room, “Yeah, of course.”

Lance walked in and stood awkwardly in the middle. “I’m sorry… normally I’d go to Hunk but he’s out of town...”

“Lance, calm down. It’s fine. Just tell me what’s wrong.” Keith said, nudging him into sitting down with Keith on the bed. 

Lance sighed, leaning forward and rubbing his hands together. “It’s… I, well I, I get nightmares sometimes.” 

A nightmare made Lance look like this? Holy shit. Keith was just really hoping Lance didn’t want to talk about it. It was way too early in the morning for Keith to try to be emotionally supportive.

“It’s… I’m used to it, but I can never go back to sleep by myself so Hunk usually… he’ll cuddle me and it really helps me sleep better so I was wondering…” Lance trailed off, looking at Keith with a puppy dog expression.

And what was Keith supposed to do? Say no to that face? As if. He was weak, okay?

“Do you have a side?” Keith sighed. This was such a bad idea. Wasn’t he supposed to be avoiding things that would make him like Lance more?

But Lance needed him. Keith couldn’t let his feelings get in the way of helping. He was a grown up, he could restrain himself. This was fine. 

“What?” Oh, this stupid stupid boy. Did he think Keith was really going to say no?

“Of the bed? Which side do you sleep on?” Keith elaborated, standing up to let Lance get comfortable.

Lance flushed hard, running a hand through his hair and then across his face before looking up at him. “Um, actually. It doesn’t matter, really. Ijustneedtobethelittlespoon.”

Oh. Maybe Keith should have kicked him out.

But he climbed under the covers and gestured for Lance to do the same.

“What, really?” Lance demanded.

Keith shot him a look. “Get under the damn covers before I change my mind.”

Lance scrambled up the bed and lay down, letting Keith slowly wrap him up in his arms.

Oh God oh God oh God. Lance was so fucking warm and the way he pressed closer into Keith’s chest was going to be the death of him. Keith was going to actually die because of this stupid boy. 

“Thanks, Keith.” Lance breathed. 

It didn’t take long for Lance to relax enough to fall asleep, but Keith was more awake than ever. Lance was so pretty and insanely quiet while he slept. There was just the steady puffs of air through his nose. The only other sound was Keith’s racing heart in his ears. It was a good thing Lance was asleep and couldn’t feel that.

He couldn’t believe Lance trusted him enough to come to him for this. He knew they were pretty good friends but… not that close. Not close enough to talk about nightmares and be this vulnerable like Lance was right now. Maybe that was just because Keith was too scared to let Lance in. Lance clearly didn’t have the same issue. 

That really meant a lot, actually.

He felt all warm thinking about it, which was gross. He was so fucked but. It was nice that Lance and he were good friends. He didn’t need more.

He was finally almost asleep when Lance started squirming. First Lance rolled completely over so he was facing Keith, which made Keith’s heart stop. He was still for a while longer, settling back down even though his face was centimeters away from Keith’s and he was basically nestled in Keith’s shoulder. 

It didn’t take much longer for things to go downhill. Lance kept twitching, his face screwing up. Was it another nightmare? 

That was confirmed almost immediately after Keith had the thought when Lance’s breathing became rapid and intersected only by incoherent, distressed mumbling. He wasn’t sure what for, but it made Lance really clingy. His hand had somehow ended up tangled in Keith’s tank top and he whined whenever Keith tried to distance himself. 

This was bad. Keith wanted to help calm him down so badly but he had no experience with this. The various families that had raised him didn’t give a damn if he had a nightmare. Well, at least, he never found out if they did. He could never work up the courage to actually wake one of the adults up for comfort.

What should he do? 

He maneuvered his limp arm that was slung over Lance’s waist so his hand settled on his back. Once he started rubbing soothing circles into his back, it felt natural. 

“Hey, it’s okay.” Keith whispered, searching Lance’s face to see if it was working.

Lance just buried his face in Keith’s chest. Fuck, he was crying now. 

“No, no. Don’t cry. Please don’t cry.”

“Don’t leave, please, don’t leave.” Lance was pleading. When did he wake up? Or was he just talking in his sleep?

“I’m not. I’m not leaving. I’m right here.” Keith pulled Lance closer, hoping the proximity would calm him down. 

After a few minutes Lance finally calmed down, falling back into a peaceful sleep. Keith just cradled him closer, fingers running through his hair. That last thing seemed to really help in the end. And once he started, he didn’t want to stop. Lance’s hair was so soft and the ends curled over the tops of his fingers and it was such a nice feeling. He should’ve gotten his fingers in Lance’s hair forever ago. 

Too bad when Lance woke up he wouldn’t be able to do this again. Probably. Keith was trying to be grateful that he was able to help at all. Was it wrong of him to be happy that Hunk wasn’t there this weekend? 

Lance wasn’t dreaming as peacefully as Keith thought, though. He started getting restless again, the hand tangled in his shirt once again tightening and clinging as tightly as possible. It was breaking Keith’s heart. He just wanted to protect this beautiful boy from anything that made him not smile. 

The-fingers-stroking-Lance’s-hair trick didn’t work this time. Lance’s distress only seemed to grow in spite of anything Keith did. And then the soft, whimpery sobs increased in volume suddenly. From tiny anguished breaths that Keith could barely hear muffled into his chest into wailing screams. 

Keith sat up which was a mistake because the second Lance lost contact with him, Lance started thrashing. Like wildly. Keith didn’t even think people could move during a dream. Wasn’t there like… a paralysis to keep people from acting out their dreams or something? It didn’t matter. This was past soothing Lance until the dream passed. That screaming was going to wake his neighbors, firstly. And more importantly, Keith couldn’t bear to see him in so much agony. He started shaking Lance, hard.

“Wake up, Lance. Lance, wake up, it’s okay. It’s okay, it’s just a dream, come on wake up!” 

It wasn’t working and Lance only appeared more frightened by the second. Keith was desperate. He needed to wake this boy up!

Lance suddenly jolted upright, and for a moment, Keith relaxed. The screaming at least had stopped. But he wasn’t awake. Lance was panting hard, sweat rolling down his face and neck. Keith didn’t know what to do anymore. He wished Lance had given him some kind of instruction. This was so hard to watch. Did this happen  _ all the time? _

_ Finally,  _ Lance seemed to wake up, body seizing up with a small shout and then lurched violently, almost falling off the bed. Keith barely caught him in time. 

“Lance?” Keith whispered, searching Lance’s frantic, wet blue eyes. Was it over?

Lance’s breathing slowed as he looked up at Keith, visibly confused. “...Keith? What… Where?”

Keith started laughing in relief. Okay. Lance was okay, he was okay. He pulled Lance into an upright position and wrapped him in a tight hug. “You’re never allowed to scare me like that again. It looked like you were having… like a fit or something. Oh my fucking  _ God.  _ Lance. Are you okay?”

Lance’s face was red, like all the way up to his ears, which only scared Keith more. But then Lance was rubbing his elbow and shifting his gaze away from Keith’s intense, searching stare. “Yeah… I’m, I’m fine. I’m sorry for scaring you.”

Keith punched Lance’s shoulder without any weight behind the hit. “Are you going to tell me what that was? And don’t say nightmare again because  _ I  _ have nightmares and I guarantee they’re never like that. You  _ can’t  _ move if you’re dreaming and you were like… flailing.”

“They’re night terrors. So… they aren’t really dreams. I can never remember what had me so frightened when I wake up. I don’t normally have them as bad when I’m with someone, which is why I didn’t say anything. I was kind of hoping it wouldn’t happen again. They’re, well, they’re embarrassing.” Lance’s shoulders hunched up around his head as he shrunk in on himself.

Keith furrowed his brow. He didn’t want to be an asshole, especially not when seconds ago he’d been genuinely frightened for Lance’s well-being but… well, “Isn’t that like… a thing young kids suffer from? You’re what- like, eighteen? Nineteen?”

“Okay, first off, trying to not be offended you don’t know how old I am. Second of all, yeah that’s a really common myth. A lot of times, it keeps on into adulthood. So basically, I’m fucked for the rest of my life.” Lance shrugged.

“Isn't there something you can do?” Keith demanded. Surely this wasn’t something that Lance would just have to… deal with forever.

Lance shrugged. “I mean, yeah. The typical junk everyone feeds you for any kind of sleep issue. Go to bed regularly, don’t drink too much caffeine, lower stress levels, yada yada yada.”

“So basically, as a college student…” Keith sighed. 

“Yep.” Lance fell silent for a few minutes, a true rarity. “I’m really sorry for waking you up so much. I can go back to my room…” 

“No!” Keith said quickly, grabbing Lance’s wrist to keep him from leaving. “No, it’s fine. I wasn’t really sleeping anyway. I… I’m probably an insomniac or something. I don’t really know. I’ve never been tested, but, well, I don’t sleep much. So, it doesn’t bother me. And if this is helping you, I want you to stay.” Keith couldn’t believe these words were coming out of his mouth.

What happened to keeping his distance?

However, Lance’s face lit up like a summer morning sunrise and Keith never wanted to distance himself ever again if it made Lance that happy. “You- you’re sure you don’t mind?” 

“Lay down and let me cuddle you.” Keith snapped, but his voice was lacking the heat he wished it had. He probably just looked flustered. God, control these gay thoughts…

Lance grinned all the more, the redness on his cheeks flaring up again. Wait, was he blushing? Why would he be blushing?

Lance did as he was told, not giving Keith time to think too hard about it as that thought was replaced by  _ fuck, cute boy snuggling into my chest. Very. Cute. Boy. _

That feeling was back, warm and bubbling in his stomach and then bursting to spread throughout the rest of his body. Keith felt… safe. Why did the knowledge that Lance was in his arms make him feel so safe? It wasn’t like Keith could protect him from night terrors. Lance did look peaceful though, and he’d been so happy when Keith told him to stay. 

Why. Why did Keith have to be so pathetically gone for this boy? There was one rule: don’t catch feelings for straight boys. It would only ever hurt. And God,  _ fuck,  _ this hurt. But it also made him so happy and safe. 

He’d known this kid for two years and he was already setting himself up to get hurt. Hadn’t he learned that people always either die, reject him off the bat, or leave? It wasn’t  _ safe  _ to let someone make him feel like this. Keith could not let this happen again.

****

Lance woke up cold. Blinking his eyes open, he was surprised to find the bed empty. Well, not too surprised because Keith was a furnace and being in his vicinity was like holding your hands to a fire, but still. He had been under the assumption Keith would stay in bed until Lance left. Or at least wake him up and make him leave. 

He was even more shocked to discover that Keith had left him alone in the dorm. If Keith was going to leave for class, why didn’t he wake Lance up? Lance scanned the room one more time to ascertain Keith really wasn’t there before rolling over and burying his nose in Keith’s sheets. 

The smell of a person really shouldn’t make his chest ache so much. This was dangerous and probably unhealthy. He couldn’t be around car shops anymore without wanting to break into tears. That had been really hard to explain to Hunk. At least Lance hadn’t had to give up his soap because Keith was the kind of heathen that used Dove. 

Okay, it was time for Lance to pull himself together and stop being weird. No more wallowing. 

He got around to getting up and trying to sort out his hair before leaving. There wasn’t much he could do though. Keith didn’t own a straightener and Lance didn’t have the time to straighten it before his first class anyways. He had really overslept.

At least Hunk would be back tonight. Hunk rarely went home over the weekends because his hometown was three hours away; however, his mother’s birthday was a few days ago so he left to celebrate. Lance really missed him. Hunk probably appreciated the few good nights of rest.

Lance was trying really hard to not be disappointed that he wouldn’t have another excuse to cuddle with Keith. Keith wasn’t even as good of a cuddler as Hunk. He was restless and less comfortable. Worst of all he was visibly awkward with affection. However, he was a bit of an octopus once he was unconscious. And really really cute when he was sleeping. Lance was glad he hadn’t slept well last night even if it was going to interfere with his classwork. 

Mostly he would just miss Keith. Keith never spent one on one time with him. Actually, that might have been their first time alone. Period. Damn. Hopefully, Keith would be more comfortable spending time with Lance now. And Lance really needed to be okay with however platonic Keith wanted things to be. 

Just because Keith was gay didn’t make Lance his type.

Lance received a couple of confused stares throughout the day that made his skin prickle as they eyed his curly hair. There was a  _ reason  _ he straightened it. If he left it alone, it was so thick and gross and wild… He mostly just tried to ignore it. He would be back to gorgeous tomorrow. This was fine.

He wasn’t anticipating seeing Keith so soon. Keith was refusing to look at Lance as they hung out with Pidge and Hunk. Was his hair really that bad? Pidge had laughed at it, run her fingers through it and then promptly forgot about it. Hunk was used to it so no reaction there. Why was Keith so hung up on it. 

Was this about last night? Was he actually pissed about not sleeping well because of Lance? He got an opportunity to ask when Hunk pulled Pidge into her kitchen to show him where everything was so he could make everybody some actual dinner. Apparently, Keith suggesting they order some McDonald’s offended him. Lance ate very well as this boy’s roommate. 

Except Keith was standing to follow them out. No, Lance needed to make sure everything was okay.

“Hey Keith?” Lance asked, trying to not sound whiny. He probably did anyway.

Keith didn’t even turn around to look at him. He just sighed heavily, going stiff. “ _ What,  _ Lance?”

Lance let him go. Okay. He wasn’t fooling himself into thinking that Keith returned his feelings but… he had always assumed they were friends. Was he wrong? Did Keith hate him? Why would he let Lance into his dorm late at night if they weren’t friends, though?

“Uh… I just wanted to talk.” Lance frowned, dropping his eyes to the ground.

Keith finally moved, bringing Lance’s eyes back up in time to see what must have been a painful eye roll. “Lance. I really don’t thi-”

“No, not about… just. I’m worried, I guess. You’re being all distant… did I do something? Is it because of my hair?” 

There was actual, genuine panic on Keith’s face like Lance had accidentally stumbled across a nerve. Was it really his  _ hair  _ that had Keith all tense? Jeeze. He knew it was bad but  _ still.  _

“Look, I was just trying to be a good friend last night, okay. But… that doesn’t change anything, yeah? I just want some space, Lance. Don’t expect me to get all cuddly on you. I’m not Hunk.” Keith said. 

“I don’t expect you to be Hunk. You’re just acting weirder than usual. You haven’t even hardly looked at me once since we got here.” Lance sighed.

“Oh, sorry that I’m not giving you every ounce of my attention. Seriously, Lance. I just didn’t want you to think I was reading into last night. I  _ knew  _ you’d get weird about it. I know you’re straight so you can chill.” 

Wait. What? “Straight?” Lance sputtered, trying to follow Keith’s train of thought. Hold on, did Keith really think Lance was straight? “Wait, we’re still friends, right?” Lance said slowly after a few moments of silence. 

Keith groaned. “I  _ fucking  _ knew you- Yes. Lance. That’s what I’m trying to say. We are staying friends. I don’t even understand how you can be all… platonically affectionate with Hunk but heaven forbid you don’t make very sure I never read anything into any interaction with you. Could you stop? I’m not going to get confused. Honestly, just leave me alone. And don’t come to my room again. Ever.” 

“Wait, Keith. That’s not- I just? You-” Lance stammered, his brain not computing everything. Keith was mad… that Lance was rubbing his heterosexuality in his face? Except, that’s not what Lance was saying! He was worried that Keith was mad at him, that’s all! He wasn’t even reading into last night. The whole point was that he was trying to  _ not  _ do that. And he wasn’t STRAIGHT?!

“I got it, Lance. Go pull yourself together. I’m going to go to the kitchen now.” And then Keith was walking away. 

Lance stood in the Holt living room feeling more confused than before. He wanted to shout that he was  _ bi _ , but the timing was probably inappropriate. Keith was clearly uncomfortable. And Lance really didn’t want to risk Keith misunderstanding. Again. Maybe Lance should just give him space. That’s what Keith had said to do, right? Leave him alone. 

He peeked into the kitchen, watching Hunk skimming through the fridge. “Hey, Hunk? Yeah, I just remembered I have an essay due at midnight so… I think I’m going to head back early.”

“Oh. Okay! See you later.” Hunk waved goodbye. 

He didn’t like that knowing look Pidge was giving him as she said goodbye. 

****

The second Lance was gone, Keith wanted to bash his face into a wall. Good job, Kogane. He freaked out on Lance and managed to push the kid further away.

It was probably for the best. Being around Lance really messed with his head. 

“Okay. I have been holding my tongue for way too long because for some reason I thought you two morons would figure it out.” Pidge said pretty much right after the door closed behind their friend.

Hunk turned away from the stove and he seemed to have a silent argument with her. Based on the way he sighed and went back to browning meat on the stove, she won.

“Keith, can I just ask… how stupid are you, exactly?” 

“Uh… excuse me?” Keith demanded. 

“Like, I know Lance is completely oblivious, but… I think you actually have him beat right now. You seriously think he’s  _ straight?”  _ Pidge snorted as she ate out of a jar of peanut butter from her perch on the counter.

Keith gawked at her. Surely she wasn’t trying to imply “Don’t you dare try and convince me Lance flirt-with-every-girl-he-sees McClain is gay right now.” 

“Like it’s so black and white, dummy. Ever heard of this thing called being bisexual?” 

Keith raised his eyebrows. “I’m sorry, this is based on what? All the  _ boys  _ he hits on?”

Hunk joined the conversation, “He’s  _ dated  _ more boys than girls, buddy. Just because he’s subtle about it-”

Keith couldn’t wrap his head around it and frankly, he wasn’t going to get his hopes up. “I’m having trouble believing you because firstly, since when is subtly his strong suit? And secondly, if he was actually bi, you’d never out him like this.”

“Keith Kogane… I swear I will hit you. Maybe you need contacts more than Lance does. Have you actually missed the bi bracelet he wears almost every day? He’s not exactly in the closet about it.” Pidge snapped. “And, yeah, normally I would let you figure things out but clearly you need things spelled out.”

Okay. So Lance was bi. That still didn’t mean anything to Keith. It changed nothing. “Okay. So what, though? Why are you telling me this exactly?”

“Hunk, please take over. If he had that much trouble with the whole bi thing, I do not have the patience to hold his head through the rest.” Pidge huffed, filling her mouth with more peanut butter.

Hunk put a glass lid over the pan and turned around. He narrowed his eyes at Keith like he was sizing him up. “Okay… so you like Lance, right?” 

“I-I, no! I mean, yeah, but obviously, he’s my friend. I thought he was straight like two minutes ago. I don’t mess around with people I have no chance with.” Keith was really hoping his face wasn’t bright red.

Pidge wasn’t buying his bullshit and he didn’t blame her. He was trash at lying. She leveled him with an amused stare over her glasses. “Lance may be blind as fuck, but I’m not. Knock it off and make this easier for yourself.”

“Alright fine! I have a stupid fucking crush, okay? But I get it. He doesn’t see me like that. Did he come to you guys? That’s why he left, isn’t it? So you could tell me for him.” Keith was trying really hard to not be hurt and angry. He had thought that Lance at least had no clue.

“No, you dolt. Shut up and listen for once.” Pidge threw her spoon at him and he only barely dodged it.

“Okay. Lance is going to probably strangle me, so I need you to after this conversation…” Hunk started rambling immediately.

“Hunk!” 

“Right, okay. So you know we all went to the same high school? Yeah, Lance has been in love with you since like… junior year.” Hunk was wringing his hands together nervously but Keith was too busy being completely baffled.

“What?”

“I only introduced you to everyone so Lance would fucking shut up about you. I figured you could make some actual friends instead of being a recluse and Lance would realize how truly flawed you were and everyone would be happy. But  _ no.  _ You two just started pining. And I have had enough of it. Both of you need to get your shit together.”

“Wait, back up.  _ Why?  _ No… He hated me, though. If Lance was in love with me, he wouldn’t have done that whole rival thing. He would have just hit on me.” Keith shook his head. 

“Oh please. Lance is only smooth when he thinks someone’s hot. You’ve never seen him crush on someone. He’s a goddamn disaster. It’s like watching a car crash.” Pidge hopped off the counter to get a new spoon. 

“He was trying to impress you.” Hunk piped up. “Also, you said something about him coming to you last night? Yeah, that’s sort of a huge deal. He gets  _ really  _ embarrassed about that stuff.  _ Pidge  _ doesn’t even know about them.”

“Don’t know about what?” Pidge perked up. 

This was getting out of control. What was Keith even supposed to be doing?

“Okay, okay.  _ Assuming  _ you guys aren’t being cruel and fucking with me, what are you expecting me to do?” 

“Please, please go to the dorms and like… I don’t know-” Hunk started.

“Fucking kiss him already, obviously-” Pidge chimed in with a roll of her eyes.

“-so that he’s all happy and forgets to be angry at me for telling you.” Hunk finished.

“What,  _ now _ ?” 

****

Lance was pacing the dorms. He had been doing so for who knew how long. He just needed to come up with some way to prove to Keith that Lance wasn’t going to make this weird and then they could go back to normal. Right? 

He was still at a total loss when there was a knock on his door. Frankly, he was grateful for the distraction until he opened the door and found Keith. Great. Was he going to tell Lance that he had thought about it and it’d just be easier if they weren’t friends at all?

Keith looked pretty distressed. It wasn’t settling Lance’s nerves at all.

“You’re bi,” Keith said, finally looking up at him.

“Uh… yeah?” Lance stepped aside to let him in. 

“You promise you’re bi and they weren’t fucking with me?” Keith demanded.

Shit. Pidge said something. Lance was going to strangle that little gremlin… Lance held up his wrist so Keith could see the pink, purple, and blue braided string. “I’m pretty certain.”

“How did I miss that?” Keith didn’t really sound like he was asking Lance, running his hands through his hair. What was going through Keith’s head right now? Was Lance going to be yelled at again? Keith didn’t look mad. “Okay. Okay. So, you were a little right earlier. I wasn’t looking at you. You… mess with my head. And after last night, I just wanted to put the distance back because I didn’t want to mess up the friend dynamic. I have a policy. No straight boys. And then you showed up with your stupid hair and…” Keith shook his head, face turning red. 

When Keith didn’t continue, just stared at Lance like he was waiting for Lance to just get it already, Lance responded hesitantly. It had been a long day and he was running on so little sleep, but it  _ sounded  _ like Keith was saying… Lance had never wanted to be right so badly in his whole life, “Are you saying that… you like me?”

“I’m saying I like you,” Keith parroted, face scarlet now. It was adorable. 

****

Lance’s eyes were so pretty, a blue-tinted kaleidoscope. And they were staring at him so intently, searching his face for some kind of prank or deception. 

Lance’s voice was so small and soft, Keith had never heard Lance sound so desperate before. Not even last night when he was whimpering in his sleep. At least, this was something different. This was full of  _ wanting  _ instead of fear. “Keith… Can I… Can I kiss you?”

Lance’s mouth was gentler than he had been expecting. Lance was shy where Keith was insistent. Keith had been wanting this for a year now, daydreaming about the confident fire inside Lance melting his insides. This was anything but confident. Lance definitely seemed scared now, like after years of wanting he was determined to be slow and shy to keep from messing it up. 

After a few seconds of Keith pressing and pushing against him hotly, Lance relaxed. The kiss turned into the experienced kind, Lance meeting Keith’s enthusiasm with passion. Warmth was bubbling in Keith’s stomach, his skin on fire. Lance was kissing him in the way that he flirted. 

He had never had Lance set his attention on him like this before, but he wasn’t going to let it go. 

Keith was the first one to pull away, needing to make sure Lance wasn’t going to back down. But Lance followed him and Keith was a whole lot closer to the door than he had originally thought as he was pressed back into it. Lance’s lips met his again, eyes fluttering open just long enough for Keith to catch something that made his stomach turn into molten lava. Lance was anything but shy now. He was making these hungry noises against Keith’s mouth and Keith wanted to swallow them. 

He was still figuring out how to breath and kiss at the same time and when he opened his mouth to pant for air and draw back again, Lance’s tongue was in his mouth. Seriously, didn’t Lance need oxygen?

Did Keith mention that Lance fucking McClain put his tongue in his mouth?

Keith was going to actually die. Forget needing to breathe, how was he supposed to function with Lance frenching him?

Maybe Hunk was on to something with Lance showing off to impress him. Maybe Keith could just do what was normal for them. Compete. He’d always assumed Lance took the lead but why should he? 

Keith pressed his hands against Lance’s shoulders and the boy was backing down, apologies already spilling off his wonderful, wonderful tongue. But then Lance was against the wall now and Keith was pulling him down by the front of his shirt, the other hand fisted into his (so soft, wonderful, why didn’t he wear it like this more often?) hair and smashing their mouths together. Lance was the one doing the melting. He could feel as Lance’s legs started to give out, and Keith was almost holding him up. 

Keith tried to fight his smirk because smirking made fighting for dominance in Lance’s mouth with his tongue pretty difficult. It wasn’t easy, but he managed. Lance gave in surprisingly quickly. 

Keith didn’t get to bask in the feeling for too long. Lance was finally pulling away for air and Keith let him, panting hard into his hair. However, Lance’s new angle gave him great access to Keith’s neck and he took advantage of it.

No matter what Lance said afterward, Keith most certainly did not squeak when Lance nipped gently under his jaw, near where his ear met his neck. Lance glanced up at him in absolute delight and Keith felt his face heating up again. Keith didn’t have time to warn Lance to say  _ nothing  _ about what Keith sounded like because Lance seemed to take that nonexistent squeak as a challenge. A challenge to make Keith weak and  _ loud. _

Kisses were pressed down the column of his neck, turning into sucking, and teeth, and more tongue and Keith was clutching Lance’s upper arms so tightly as if that could make Keith have control over his own body again. Heat was taking over his lips for sure. Something about Lance’s mouth pressed so sweetly against his skin making him unabashed and moaning quietly into the quiet room.

“Lance… Lance.  _ Lance,”  _ Keith tried valiantly to form a sentence, get Lance’s attention. He had something important to say but it was hard to remember when he was too busy craning his neck to allow Lance to be able to reach the junction of his neck where it met with his shoulders that he had never known was so  _ sensitive.  _ But Lance pulled away, a self-assured grin on his face that was way too smug for someone pinned against a wall. Keith blinked up at him for a moment trying to regain the power of thought. Right, “Hunk… he probably won’t be gone that long and…”

“Oh,” Lance glanced down between the two of them and finally looked embarrassed. It made Keith feel way better. He pulled back a little, and Keith tried to not feel disappointed. “Right, uh. No, I don’t intend to… yet. We haven’t even talked. I just…” if possible, Lance flushed darker, “got excited. I’ve wanted to do that  _ forever.” _

“What took you so long?” Keith asked, trying to not feel bitter that they hadn’t done this sooner.

“I thought you  _ hated  _ me! What’s your excuse?” Lance was smiling and it was blinding. And then Lance’s hands were moving up to pull Keith’s hands away from their tight hold around Lance’s arms. Was Lance holding his hands? 

He was just going to pretend that didn’t make his stomach swoop so pathetically.

“Uh, I thought you were straight, remember?” Keith reminded him.

Lance laughed (another stomach swoop. Lance needed to stop being so adorable) and kissed Keith again. Just a chaste peck that still managed to make Keith’s knees weak. Why was he so badly gone for this idiot? “So now you know I’m not, what are you going to do about it?” 

Hunk said Lance dated boys, right? So Lance wouldn’t get all antsy about the prospect of dating Keith, right? At doing relationship things in front of other people? Because that’s what Keith wanted to do about it. 

As if Lance could see the doubt in Keith’s eyes, he smiled softly at down at him, squeezing his hands gently. “You can ask me, I’ll probably say yes.”

“Do you… want to be my boyfriend?” Keith managed to ask, watching Lance’s face for his reaction.

How could Lance smile so hard? And why did seeing it make Keith so happy and make his chest ache so badly like that smile wasn’t for him? Then Lance was hugging him tightly. “Of course I do! I…” Lance pulled away, “You had me nervous there for a moment. Thought you might just want some quick sex and call it good-” 

“What, you really think-” Keith demanded, fighting an amused laugh.

“Well, I don’t know. It was a whole lot of hot kissing and I usually start with dinner or coffee or something. We hadn’t even gotten to where you stood on liking me back yet.” Lance said defensively but he was chuckling too. 

“You  _ asked  _ me to kiss you!” 

“Yeah well, I guess you mess with my head too. Don’t worry. I’ll still treat you to the best first date you’ve ever had, baby.” Lance grinned with a wink, still so smooth even when he was laughing. It was actually unfair how he could be cute and hot at once. Lance’s smile fell momentarily, turning serious and Keith felt himself tense up. 

“Keith? Can I ask you a question?”

Keith shrugged. He would not get anxious, it was just a question.

“Can I… Did you really mean it earlier about me not staying the night anymore?” There was worry and disappointment written all over Lance’s expression.

“I mean… at the time I did. But that’s because I was trying really hard to stomp down my feelings.” 

Lance smiled. “So does that mean I  _ can  _ stay the night again?”

Keith felt himself flush, but luckily Hunk spared him the need to answer by coming home right that moment. 

“I do not want to know what that means Lance.” Hunk shot the two of them a grossed out face before breaking into a huge smile. “But I’m really glad to hear you two are finally together!”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are really really appreciated! I sincerely hope you guys liked this mess. Have a fantastic day, folks! Hope this twelve-page monster healed all the wounds I've given you in all my other works <3   
> I know that ending is less than satisfying but... I ran out of energy. Sorry. Hope you still enjoyed it anyway.   
> P.S. I really like Lance giving Keith hickeys it's my weakness  
> P.P.S there will probably be a sort of part two. J.S.


End file.
